Provider: Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic

TY  - JOUR
JO  - Anthropologie (Brno)
TI  - ASSESSMENT OF UNDER- NUTRITION USING
COMPOSITE INDEX OF ANTHROPOMETRIC
FAILURE (CIAF) AMONG THE SCHOOL
CHILDREN OF NORTH 24 PARGANAS DISTRICT
OF WEST BENGAL, INDIA
AU  - Basu Ch
AU  - Chakrabarti S
AU  - Goswami M
Y1  - 2019
VL  - 57
IS  - 3
PB  - Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic
SN  - 0323-1119
SP  - 315
EP  - 328
KW  - Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) – Stunting – Under-nutrition – Underweight –
Wasting – Z scores
N2  - 
N2  - Malnutrition is a serious problem present in varying proportion in developing countries and is quite enhanced
in Indian context. In spite of several initiatives and policy interventions being taken up by Government of India, the
problem of under- nutrition is still persisting in Indian scenario. This problem of under -nutrition not only impedes the
cognitive and psychological development of a child but stands to be an obstacle in the pathway of country's socio-economic
development. Against this backdrop, the present study is an endeavour to evaluate the overall prevalence of under-nutrition
among the school children (Government and private) using Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) of North
24 Parganas district of West Bengal, India. A total of 330 children (164 boys and 166 girls), aged 3 to 8 years were selected
from both the schools. The children were classified as under – weight, stunting and wasting if their weight-for-age, heightfor-
age, and weight-for-height Z-scores were below -2SD (WHO, 2006). The results of the study revealed that the prevalence
of under-weight, stunting and wasting (age and sex combined) was high (20.60%, 13.30%, and 33.30%) among the
Government school children when compared with the children of the private school (14.50%, 6.10%, 17.60%). CIAF showed
a higher prevalence of under-nutrition (44.81%) among the children of Government school compared to the children of
private school (26.70%). Moreover, the children also experienced multiple anthropometric failures. Thus, by disintegrating
the undernourished children into different groups helps to identify children who are vulnerable and also proves to be
worthy to identify the children suffering from single or multiple anthropometric failures. Various nutritional programmes
are required to improve the overall nutritional status of the children. Nevertheless, the present study provides an open platform for further researches and instigates the policy makers to take necessary action as and when required.
ER  -